A North East venue has responded after theatre-goers were left angered by the lack of guidance after they were evacuated from a performance earlier this week. 

On Tuesday (October 31), hundreds of people were forced to leave Stockton Globe during a performance of Most Haunted Live: The Stage Show. 

People were seen fleeing the venue into nearby bars and coffee shops and fire engines were spotted outside Stockton Globe by passers-by. 

The Northern Echo: Stockton GlobeStockton Globe (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

The incident is believed to have happened at about 10.30pm when there were around ten minutes left of the show, with the venue now confirming that it was caused by a fire alarm being pulled, describing the incident as a 'false alarm'.

The rest of the performance did not happen and production crews made the decision not to let audience members back in. 

However, it was the lack of guidance and instruction from staff members at Stockton Globe that ended up leaving members of the public angered. 

The Northern Echo: Stockton GlobeStockton Globe (Image: GOOGLE MAPS)

One member of the audience, who does not wish to be identified, told The Northern Echo: "The fire alarm was sounding and staff members were looking at one another - we wanted a bit of guidance about what we should do.

"People were trying to push their way out and there was a clear message or message that I could hear coming over the speakers - it was a little poor."

Meanwhile, others felt similar online, with several people taking to social media to call the incident "a shambles" and "unbelievable."

On Wednesday (November 1), Stockton Globe issued a statement about the incident - calling it a 'false alarm' and describing what happened, but also promised that there would be a review of the incident. 

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The venue also apologised for not communicating certain aspects to customers.

The statement reads: "The building was evacuated and cleared safely within the required amount of time and all necessary actions were followed in line with procedures independently audited by relevant stakeholders.

"We do however recognise our customers’ concerns and a full review of communications and procedures has been undertaken following the evacuation."

The statement goes on to say that, due to only having ten minutes left of the show, the visiting production team made the decision to not continue after clearance was given by Cleveland Fire Brigade and customers were informed.

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"As part of our evacuation plan, there is a defined procedure for our customers to be taken to designated refuge points in the venue depending on the nature of the emergency," the statement added.  

"A decision was made to use the refuge points and staff members assisted in guiding these customers to the closest area.

"We recognise we failed to communicate the following steps and to provide comfort to our visitors, and apologise for this."